Georges Braque {brahk}, b. May 13, 1882, d. Aug. 31, 1963,
in collaboration with Pablo Picasso, was the founder of cubism. After receiving training at the local art
school in Le Havre, Braque went to Paris in 1900. There he studied (1902-04) at the Académie Humbert
and then at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in the studio of Léon Bonnat. Braque's early works (1903-05) were
executed in the mood of early impressionism. Greatly influenced by André Derain, Henri Matisse, and
Maurice de Vlaminck, Braque entered (1906 or 1907) his Fauve period, in which he used soft, undulating patterns
and brilliant colors. Unlike the other Fauves (see Fauvism), however, he showed an interest in architectonic
solidity of composition and an emphasis on strongly defined volumes rather than color and brushwork.

A crucial change in Braque's art came in the fall of 1907, when he
rediscovered Paul Cezanne at the memorial exhibitions at the Salon d'Automne and the Bernheim-Jeune Gallery. At
this time, he also met Picasso. In the late work of Cezanne, both Braque and Picasso saw a new geometrization of
form and new spatial relationships that were to become the basis of cubism. Spurred by his close association with
Picasso, whose Les Demoiselles d'Avignon (1906-07) has been called "the first painting of the 20th century," Braque
transformed his style radically. Within three years, Picasso and Braque invented analytic cubism, a new, completely
nonillusionistic and nonimitative method of depicting the visual world. Their concerns were so mutual and their
association so intense that in many instances only experts can distinguish Braque's paintings of 1910-12 from those
of Picasso. Violin and Pitcher (1910; Kunstmuseum, Basel) is one of the best examples of Braque's analytic cubism.
The paintings of this period are all executed in muted greens, grays, ochers, and browns. The objects are fragmented,
as though seen from multiple viewpoints. This multiplicity introduced the element of time into vision. These fragments,
or cubes, are organized along a grid, thereby creating a compact pictorial structure.

Braque's works from the period 1917-20 are derived compositionally
from synthetic cubism, the second phase of cubism, which began about 1914. Much flatter and more variegated in color,
they include brightly dotted decorative passages. Around 1930-31, Braque moved to the coast of Normandy in France.
As a result, he changed the subjects of his paintings; bathers, beach scenes, and seascapes were now his favorite
themes. Stylistically, he became increasingly interested in ornamentation and patterned surfaces. During the late
1930s and early '40s, Braque was drawn to melancholy themes. From 1945, birds were a dominant subject. Braque's
canvases done during the 1950s show a return to the brilliant colors of the Fauve period, as in the Louvre ceiling
(1952-53) and the decoration for the villa at Saint Paul-de-Vence (1954). Active until the end of his life, Braque
produced an oeuvre that includes sculpture, graphics, book illustration, and decorative art.

Explore the fascinating history of the prophet from Provence,
Nostradamus.

Read the reviews of our carefully selected travel guides and
recommended reading, then click to save 20-40% on
books you purchase, with the convenience of home delivery.

Can't find your favorite French movies at the video store or
library? Check out our selection of videotapes and DVDs featuring
French movie icons like Depardieu, Deneuve, Montand, and many more.
Then click to
save 10-30% on your own personal copy delivered to your door!

Submissions

Host your web page with us!

DiscoverFrance.net actively encourages topical submissions from
students of French language & culture, educators, seasoned
travelers, American expatriates, and natives of France.

If you would like to share your experiences, knowledge or
research with thousands of our visitors and friends, please send
a note to the
webmaster!

Are you an individual or business with a web page on any topic
related to France -- arts, culture, entertainment, history,
language, tourism, etc. -- in English or French? Your site can
have an address of "www. discoverfrance. net/your_site" for less
than $10 per month! Get more hits by affiliating with other
francophile sites.

Tired of the Java commercial advertising windows and banners
imposed by the so-called "free" web page hosting services? At
DiscoverFrance.net, you can customize your page as you wish,
without any commercial requirements or programming inserted into
your HTML. Our web servers and Internet connections are fast,
too.